Happy Independence Day! In this episode: Fr. Nathan Cromly, CSJ shares an inspiring reminder about the responsibility of freedom. Garage Sale Guru Katherine Szerdy joins us to share the secrets of her garage sale success. You don't want to miss her story about the Taiwanese Square Dancers! New book recommendations, a happy update about Kisses from Karolina, and much more!
Some of Katherine's tips include:
Hosting a Garage Sale
Start planning weeks, if not months in advance. Designate a place in your basement or garage to start collecting items and organize as you go. Also another good tip---Price as you go!
Read Marie Kondo’s Book, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, for inspiration on eliminating excess.
Advertise in your local paper—ask any participating neighbors to kick in a little for the ad. The ad costs me $25 or so and is worth every penny!
Some towns require a sign permit. They’re usually free. Also, don’t put signs in neighbor’s yards without asking permission!
Be sure to have a plan for parking. If you live on a busy street, you may want to designate parking in your front yard or around the corner.
Create a sign with big bold colorful letters and anchor it well. Use balloons to attract attention. Don’t waste a lot of money on signs—more important to advertise well. Customers have GPS!
Have plenty of tables! Customers don’t like groveling on the ground for stuff. Ask neighbors or even your church if you can borrow tables or create tables using sawhorses and a door or planks of wood. People don’t like buying stuff off the ground—it’s dirty!
Be extremely organized! Organization yields high $$$$$!
Mark or hide things in the garage which are not for sale. My husband hangs a sheet in front of his tools.
Have plenty of price stickers and clearly mark EVERYTHING! Customers feel uncomfortable having to ask! It’s OK to have some things grouped together with one sign---such as paperbacks 50c and hardbound books $1. Also make certain clothing sizes are clearly marked. .
The best days to host a sale are Friday and Saturday. I have a garage sale about every three years and always have my sales all day Friday from 8-4 and Saturday from 8-1. If a sale runs from Thursday to Saturday, don’t expect to see many customers on Saturday other than those seeking donations.
I always open my doors ½ hour early when I have sales—I advertise 8 AM, but open my doors at 7:30. That’s kind of an expectation with veteran garage salers….If you don’t, you will lose sales.
by Katherine Szerdy
Thank you, Katherine. Look for more tips in our next newsletter!
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